■ CHARITY
Tzu Chi helps blaze victims
The Tzu Chi Buddhist Compassionate Relief Foundation has twice this month airlifted blankets and other relief goods to the Philippines to help victims of a disastrous fire that occurred in a slum near Manila earlier this month, a Tzu Chi official said yesterday. Tzu Chi airlifted 2,000 blankets to the Philippines last Thursday. Transportation was provided free of charge thanks to the chairman of Philippine Airlines, Lucio Tan, who is a Tzu Chi volunteer, the Tzu Chi official said. Tzu Chi sent another batch of 3,000 blankets and 5,000 packs of first-aid and relief goods to Manila last Saturday, again free of charge thanks to Tan. The fire left more than 3,000 people homeless, Tzu Chi said.
■ ENVIRONMENT
Lights out at schools
Lights at the nation's government offices and at schools were turned off for one hour yesterday to mark Earth Day. At the suggestion of the Cabinet, lights at many government offices and schools were turned off between 12pm and 1pm to save energy and cut down on carbon dioxide emissions. The government issued the "lights out" order for the internationally recognized day in response to a call from 17 Taiwanese civic groups. The groups also urged that lights in the world's tallest building -- the 508m Taipei 101 -- be turned off briefly in a symbolic gesture. Taipei 101's lights will be turned off next month as part of another energy-saving campaign.
■ DEFENSE
Wan-an Exercise in Taitung
The annual Wan-an Exercise will be carried out in Taitung County from 8pm to 8:30pm on May 3. The Wan-an Exercise is an air raid drill that is usually carried out between April and June in different locations around the country. The Ministry of National Defense reminded the public that all vehicular and pedestrian traffic will be suspended during the 30-minute exercise. All indoor and outdoor lights must also be switched off. Taitung County Commissioner Kuang Li-chen (鄺麗貞) will be the convener for the exercise. The exercise will be a good chance for the county government officials to practice and simulate related procedures, she said.
■ POLITICS
TSU criticizes Lee verdict
The Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) caucus yesterday said the Supreme Court's ruling against former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) in a defamation lawsuit was too severe. People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) had filed the lawsuit and the Taipei District Court ruled in November 2005 that Lee should pay Soong NT$10 million (US$300,000) in compensation and run apologies in nine newspapers. The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the Taiwan High Court's ruling that Lee, seen by TSU members as the party's spiritual leader, should apologize to Soong and compensate him for defamation. The ruling said Lee insinuated in a speech in 2004 that Soong was playing mahjong with friends on April 10, 2004, while his followers fought police after President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) re-election. The Supreme Court ruled Lee should run apologies in three newspapers for a day and pay Soong NT$2 million. "The verdict was severe because Lee did not specify who he was talking about [in his speech]," TSU caucus whip Tseng Tsahn-deng (曾燦燈) said. PFP Legislator Chang Hsien-yao (張顯耀), on the other hand, yesterday lauded the ruling, calling it "belated justice."
Honor guards are to stop performing changing of the guard ceremonies around a statue of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) to avoid “worshiping authoritarianism,” the Ministry of Culture said yesterday. The fate of the bronze statue has long been the subject of fierce and polarizing debate in Taiwan, which has transformed from an autocracy under Chiang into one of Asia’s most vibrant democracies. The changing of the guard each hour at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei is a major tourist attraction, but starting from 9am on Monday, the ceremony is to be moved outdoors to Democracy Boulevard, outside the eponymous blue-and-white memorial
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) supports peaceful unification with China, and President William Lai (賴清德) is “a bit naive” for being a “practical worker for Taiwanese independence,” former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said in an interview published yesterday. Asked about whether the KMT is on the same page as the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) on the issue of Taiwanese independence or unification with China, Ma told the Malaysian Chinese-language newspaper Sin Chew Daily that they are not. While the KMT supports peaceful unification and is against unification by force, the DPP opposes unification as such and
The government would cancel kendo practitioner Su Yu-cheng’s (蘇郁程) nationality if he is confirmed to have represented China in the World Kendo Championships in Milan, Italy, last week, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday. “We have consulted the Sports Administration and were told that athletes participating in the championships must have the nationality of the country that they represent. They must also present their passports as proof,” council spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) told a weekly news conference. “If Su indeed represented China in the championships, we suspect that he has obtained Chinese nationality.” The Act Governing Relations Between the People of the
FATAL ILLNESS: Untreated symptoms can rapidly worsen to complications such as high fever, seizures and loss of consciousness, and can be life-threatening, a doctor said Hospitals have been reporting dozens of people with heat-related illnesses every day over the past week, given continuous high daytime temperatures, so recognizing the early signs of heatstroke is crucial in preventing serious complications, a Taipei City Hospital emergency physician said. The Central Weather Administration yesterday issued a heat alert for 19 cities and counties across Taiwan, with temperatures in New Taipei City, Miaoli County and Pingtung County likely to exceed 38°C, and temperatures in 12 cities and counties likely to exceed 36°C for three days straight. More than a dozen people were taken to hospitals for heat-related illnesses every day from